Many Hip Replacement Surgeries Avoidable, Doctor Says

DePuy Orthopaedics recalled 93,000 ASR hip replacements because researchers found they failed in large percentages of recipients after only a few years. The DePuy hip replacement recall is considered an immense disaster in orthopedic history. However, few orthopedists and business analysts consider it a long-term problem for the artificial joint industry. Americans, they argue, are aging, and joint replacements aren’t for old people, even middle-aged Americans will benefit from them, so more research into better implants is in order.

One Doctor Disagrees

Dr. Lou Pack wrote an editorial in CNN that describes the situation as a confusion between correlation and causation. True, older people develop arthritis osteoarthritis more often than younger people, but some older people suffer no symptoms of osteoarthritis. Despite the coincidental discrepancy, Dr. Pack believes that there is a systemic explanation for why some 90 year-olds never need artificial joint surgery while some 55 year-olds do. Simply “being old,” or “being overweight,” aren’t sufficient for him.

A Question of Alignment

Dr. Pack writes:

“Certainly, one knee is not younger than the other. And in cases where both knees and hips are involved, the onset of one most always precedes the onset of the other and is more severe … This logical fallacy is true of weight as well. As is the case in older people, many overweight people only have one knee or hip joint involved. Is all their weight on one side?”

Instead of these factors predominating, Pack argues, the problem is that a person’s biomechanical alignment influences the wear placed on his or her joints, much like how wheel alignment affects the wear on tires on a car. With this in mind, restoring proper alignment on one’s joints economizes movement and reduces osteoarthritis. Dr. Pack believes that resetting one’s alignment can go quite a long way to removing the necessity of patients to receive an artificial hip replacement.

RLG Helps Those Already Harmed

Correcting mechanical issues in people may help people suffering from osteoarthritis, but it does nothing for those who are experiencing hip replacement failure symptoms from a recalled ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics. If you received one of these implants, a hip replacement lawsuit may get you a higher amount of compensation than using DePuy’s claims process. If you are interested in discussing your legal options, the Rottenstein Law Group offers free consultations to people in your circumstances, and all you need to do is click on this link or complete our contact form to the right and one of our lawyers will call you as soon as possible.